A Particularly Busy Economic Calendar Puts the EUR and the USD in Focus

Earlier in the Day:

It is a particularly busy start to the Asian session on the economic calendar. The Aussie Dollar and Kiwi Dollar were in action early this morning. Later this morning, the Aussie Dollar will be in focus again, with retail sales figures due out ahead of the RBA’s monetary policy decision.

For the Aussie Dollar

In December, the AIG Manufacturing Index fell from 54.8 to 48.4.

According to the December survey,

• Six of the seven activity indexes were in decline.
• Production, new orders, sales, and stocks were mildly positive after solid numbers in November.
• Three of the six manufacturing sectors reported positive conditions.
• The building materials and machinery & equipment sectors reported the strongest results.
• By contrast, the food & beverage sector fell into contraction.

The Aussie Dollar moved from $0.70653 to $0.70671 upon release of the figures. At the time of writing, the Aussie Dollar was down by 0.01% to $0.7066.

For the Kiwi Dollar

New Zealand’s trade deficit narrowed from NZ$1,060m to NZ$477m in the month of December. Year-on-year, however, the deficit widened from NZ$6,230m to NZ$6,780m.

According to NZ Stats,

• Goods exports rose NZ$686m (+13%) to NZ$61.bn when compared with December 2020.
  • Milk powder, butter, and cheese exports increased NZ$459m (29%).
  • Meat and edible offal rose by NZ$140m (19%).
• Imports of goods increased by $1.2bn (+23%) to NZ$6.5bn.
  • Vehicles, parts, and accessories imports rose by NZ$191m (24%).
  • Mechanical machinery and equipment imports increased NZ$135m (18%).

The Kiwi Dollar moved from $0.65760 to $0.65748 upon release of the figures. At the time of writing, the Kiwi Dollar was up by 0.02% to $0.6577.

Elsewhere

At the time of writing, the Japanese Yen was flat at  ¥115.110 against the U.S Dollar.

The Day Ahead

For the EUR

It’s another busy day ahead on the economic calendar. Manufacturing sector PMIs for Italy and Spain will be in focus along with German retail sales and unemployment numbers.

Other stats include French inflation and finalized French, German, and Eurozone manufacturing PMIs for January. Barring any revisions to prelim numbers, expect the French inflation figures to draw the greatest interest.

At the time of writing, the EUR was up 0.01% to $1.1236.

For the Pound

It’s a quiet day ahead on the economic calendar. January’s finalized manufacturing PMI is the key stat of the day. Expect any upward revisions to be key for the Pound ahead of Thursday’s BoE monetary policy decision.

At the time of writing, the Pound was up by 0.01% to $1.3448.

Across the Pond

It’s a busy day ahead on the economic data front. The market’s preferred ISM Manufacturing PMI will be the key stat of the day. With nonfarm payroll figures due out at the end of the week, however, JOLT’s job openings for December will also draw interest. The markets will be looking for any impact from the Omicron strain on openings and quit rates.

On Monday, the U.S Dollar Spot Index slid by 0.65% to end the day at 96.634.

For the Loonie

It’s a quiet day ahead. November GDP numbers are due out late in the day. With little else to focus on, expect the numbers to influence, a pickup would support a near-term move by the Bank of Canada.

At the time of writing, the Loonie was up by 0.02% to C$1.2706 against the U.S Dollar.

For a look at all of today’s economic events, check out our economic calendar.